Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Hey blogger universe! Has it really been a month since I've last blogged? Well, to be fair, since that time it's been hectic. First block of classes ended and second block started up and I am knee-deep in French and am trying my hardest to keep my head above water. It's AMAZING, but so tough! We're getting into the specifics of the language and all the little details such as the difference between the two versions of past-tense that exist and the two versions of future tense that exist as well. It's absolutely insane, but my professor is fantastic and I'm learning so much! I'm even dreaming in French!

But lets get on to the stuff that you probably want to know, such as how my marriage is going and if me and Ryan are still as in love as ever before. Well, I can answer those questions with simple one-word responses, but I'll catch you all up in the life of the Merrills.

A waaay long time ago, I bought me and Ryan a couple of pumpkins in celebration of Halloween and we went ahead and carved those suckers.

Isn't my spouse adorable?

All the delicious guts of the pumpkin (I'm using "delicious" sarcastically...)

I remembered when me and Sarah would carve pumpkins in the past and how we would go to homestarrunner.com and find fun templates there. So that's what me and Ryan did!

He chose the "bear holding a shark" and I chose the whale.

We put towels in front of the TV, popped in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and started to carve. Only problem: our tools were not conducive for legitimate carving. Great were the days when the utensils given in pumpkin carving kits were actually sharp if not a little bit fragile. But I guess there were too many reported cuts and slices to fingers that the companies (or at least the company that supplies Macey's) decided to do away with those handy little saws and replace them with larger, thicker, and absolutely blunt "saws". It was sad.

Watching "Prisoner of Azkaban"

My attempts at carving the whale with my poor utensils.

Ryan's design with the jagged teeth was a little harder to manage with the crappy blades.

So we gave up that endeavor to make Homestarrunner jack-o-lanterns and did un-traced faces instead.

There's Ryan's handiwork.

Mine!

But since I finished the whale design, I decided to include a picture of it as well.

They were only lit for that time since we only had our 24-hour candles readily available and never went out of our way to buy tea-lights. So they never got lit on Halloween. In general, our Halloween was filled with homework and not a lot of exciting things. Hopefully that will change next year.

A second exciting thing was also documented in my month and a half absence: Me and Ryan participated in the school-hosted Murder Mystery dinner. It was held at the lodge that BYU owns up in the mountains (eerie yet gorgeous location if you ask me) and it was semi-formal and deliciously fun!

Though I didn't get lots of pictures of it, I enjoyed getting dolled up, seeing Ryan in a sharp suit, and the two of us participating in a mystery where the actors were FANTASTIC at being eccentric and off-setting and the ambiance was elegant. I enjoyed myself immensely and I think the two of us are going to make this an annual tradition as long as we're in the Provo area.

Just before we headed down the curvy road: we're slightly blurry, but we're excited! (See Ryan's tie? He calls that his "magic and mystery" tie)

Giving our best (and not so best) mysterious faces. I'll admit, we need some work.

Overall, the past month and a half was absolutely busy. There were holidays to celebrate, French to be learned, films to be shot, edited, and put onto DVDs, food to be eaten, naps to be taken...okay, the last one is a lie. I wish I took naps, but nowadays I don't have the time for it.

Thanksgiving was also good. If you want details of that, it's recent enough that you can just call me up and I'll give you the whole spiel. But for now, I'm gonna sign out and "promise" to blog more often.

About Me

I am a married film school graduate who has a passion for all things beautiful. I enjoy film, art, music, and all sorts of creative things. I'm learning to speak French, I wish I were better at sewing, and I'm excited to embark on this journey waiting for me, hand in hand with my best friend and partner in crime.